


Liches Get Stitches

by NerRavine



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Death, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Elf, Fantasy, Horror, No Dungeons & Dragons Knowledge Required, Non-Graphic Violence, Teacher-Student Relationship, Undead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26436313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerRavine/pseuds/NerRavine
Summary: Everything you could ever need to know about the development of a Lich, from beginning of the transformation to the end.





	Liches Get Stitches

_The following excerpts are from the book “Liches get Stitches”, authored by T. Orist._

“Recently it has been made known to me that a past pupil of mine has made some interesting ‘life’ choices. Specifically, the individual has taken a leap into Lichdom. I hope to document any and all developments regarding the status of this individual (who will remain anonymous). Thankfully the ritual was held quite recently, hopefully allowing me to see the transformation in full...”

“Subject is a Human Male, 47 years old. At the time of my arrival, it has been 26 days since the subject had performed the ritual to become a Lich. As of right now, there don’t seem to be any indications, physical or otherwise, that would suggest that this man is anything but an average human. His hair had greyed slightly since our last encounter, which I at first mistook for a sign of rot, but I was assured that it has been grey prior to the ritual...”

“... _Grind the bones of your ancestors,_  
 _Mixed with the blood of the castor,_  
 _Stuffed into an undead liver,_  
 _Wound in winding-clothes of strangers,_  
 _Burned in the bed of hell’s rivers,_  
 _Inhale what’s left that still smolders._

(It would seem that the most complicated requirement to fulfill is locating one of ‘hell’s rivers’, but I’m told this is simply the dried up remains of a riverbed that once ran southward.)

Despite not being mentioned in the original text, the ritual requires another object, a phylactery. According to the Subject, one is meant to inhale the ritual smoke through their nose, which will allow the soul of the individual to be exhaled into their receptacle of choice. Following this explanation, the subject was happy to show me his soul, which currently resides in an 8oz glass jar, and has taken the appearance of coagulated strawberry jam. I personally have mixed feelings about this...”

“At the time of my departure, it has been 371 days since the ritual took place. Not much has changed in the time I’ve spent with the Subject. The most notable changes that occurred in him were physical. He had lost an unhealthy amount of weight, his hair has thinned significantly, and along with his hair, his skin had greyed. Perhaps there is mental degradation in motion, but there are very few signs of it (if what I am seeing are actually signs of degradation). The Subject has spoken to me about feeling hunger, but being unable to discern what he hungers for. I’ve decided that it might be beneficial if I were to allow for things to progress naturally, without my influence. A watched pot never boils after all...”

“It has been 723 days since the ritual took place, 352 days since my departure from the Subject. Today, I returned to his home to find that he has completely retreated, belongings and all, into the cellar beneath his cabin. The Suspect had begun rotting a few months prior to my arrival, starting with the skin on his fingertips. At this point in time, the skin has rotted off up to his shoulders, and the same blight was beginning to creep up his legs. He claims that this does not result in any pain, but that the cool dry environment of his cellar makes it feel ‘better’. Currently, conversation with the Subject is difficult, as he seems to be struggling with communicating his own thoughts and feelings clearly...”

“The Subject tells me he isn’t hungry anymore, but that he does not remember what he has eaten. As far as I am aware, he has not eaten any food nor has he consumed any water since performing the ritual. His cellar has been well stocked with various dry goods and preserves, but the amount of dust coating everything would suggest that none of it had been touched in quite some time. Regrettably, I am not familiar with what Liches need for sustenance. Since the Subject cannot tell me himself, I will have to start investing time into finding other sources of information.

On another note regarding the food stores, I found that the Subject has hidden his phylactery amongst other similar jars in his cupboard. I am uncertain whether this was done on purpose as a measure to hide it in plain sight, or on accident in an attempt to tidy up. The subject doesn’t seem to know either.”

“Since I’ve been gone, the subject has gotten into habitually picking at the flesh along his wrists, fingers, and elbows, exposing the boney joints. It is not my business to interfere with his nervous quirks, but I felt it was necessary to do something when the day came when he finally picked through one of the joints completely. His right wrist (Subject is left-handed) was picked clean through, causing the right hand to drop to the floor. When not attached to the body, the hand did not have any function, and could easily be mistaken for the hand of a long-forgotten corpse. I took the time to stitch the appendage back into place, and wrapped it in a thick layer of gauze. After reattachment, the hand functioned normally...”

“During one of my trips into the nearest village (to restock my own supplies), I decided to try to chatting with the locals. This isn’t something I would normally do, but my rotting companion leaves a lot to be desired in terms of social interaction. Thankfully, there was something gained from these interactions, outside of fulfilling my own personal needs. Throughout town, there were a handful of people who spoke of a ‘witch’ who lived in the cabin on the outskirts of their settlement. It had become a game for young folk to try knocking on the door to the ‘witch house’ expecting a to meet ‘her’, or to try tossing pebbles at the windows, taunting the ‘her’ instead. Some parents saw this as harmless fun, but most of those who spoke of the ‘witch house’ did so out of concern. I handed out a few cards to some people of note, so that they may be able to contact me if something were to go awry...”

“Seeing as there are more gaps in my knowledge then I originally considered, I feel it is time for me to take me leave to continue my research elsewhere. Currently, it has been 787 days since the ritual has been cast. I’ve only spent 64 days with the Subject during this session, but I plan to return as quickly as I am able...”

“Due to the overabundance of ‘adventurers’ with no sense of self preservation, there is an equally overabundant number of written accounts of Lich encounters. Unsurprisingly, most of these accounts begin with a Lich lying about in some sort of underground bunker surrounded by a pile of corpses, and ends with someone unwillingly contributing their body to said pile. Rarely, an encounter will end with the death of the Lich instead, which is caused by releasing the soul of the creature from whatever container it had been stored in.

Unfortunately, not a single one of these meat heads took the time to examine the corpses that a Lich seems to keep around. It is clear from my research that a Lich must feed from the living, but since there are no proper autopsy records of their victims, I cannot discern exactly which parts they consume...”

“Returning to the Subject’s home again, it has been 870 days since the ritual. Before entering the cellar to reconvene with the Subject, I took a slight detour. The door to his cabin was open when I arrived, despite the building not being used in quite some time. In the hearth laid the corpses of various woodland rodents, at differing stages of decomposition. Since every animal was as fully intact as a cadaver can be (uneaten), I don’t believe these to be victims of the Subject. Most likely these animals were part of the villagers’ ‘game’...”

“Despite my absence being brief, the Subject underwent a significant amount of physical changes. The blight has extended to most of his body, exceptions only being small patches of flesh on his back, upper chest, and scalp. His grey hair has remained thick and long wherever there is still attached skin. Almost nothing remains of his face, most like due to his picking habit now extending to his entire body...”

“The Subject has stayed consistent mentally for some time now, suggesting that he has plateaued in that aspect of his transformation. Although communication is remains difficult with the Subject, he continues to perform daily tasks. He seems to be to be still fully capable of slightly more complex tasks like reading and repairing household objects.

There is still no sign of hostility in the Subject. I suspect that this might only be due to our previously established familiarity with one another. In theory, I could bring in a third party, to gauge the Subject’s reaction to a stranger entering his territory. Being that I cannot guarantee the safety of this third party, this experiment may take some time to come to fruition, if it were to happen at all...”

“In what seemed to be a momentary spark of clarity, the Subject told me that the last thing he ate, was jam. According to him, this was eaten fairly recently, and through his nose...”

“Once again, I am unable to continue my research in the company of the Subject. At 975 days, I’ve returned home and begun testing to extract ‘jam’ from a living creature, for the purpose of knowing what a proper soulless corpse looks like. This might take some time, but I feel that it would be relatively safe leaving the Subject alone for the time being, seeing as he keeps to himself, reading all day and supposedly nibbling on rodents...”

“I have successfully, and safely, recreated the ritual that results in a Lich. Instead of using my own body for the process, I purchased a housecat to use in my place. Surprisingly, felines do in fact have souls, and they can be easily extracted in the same way a man’s can be. The ritual I performed was edited slightly, first of course with the inclusion of the housecat, and secondly with the absence of any form of phylactery. Without the phylactery present, the critter’s soul simply spilled onto the ground, leaving it dead (as opposed to undead). Although the entire process was a joy to witness firsthand, I cannot say that there was actually anything gained from the experiment. A soulless dead cat does not look any different than a cat that died with their soul intact...”

“At 1095 days, one of the villagers made contact with me. She told me that her adolescent son has gone missing after a night fooling around the ‘witch house’...”

“When I arrived at the Subject’s dwelling, I greeted him as I normally would have. He had not changed physically or mentally since our last meeting. The state of his surroundings was also identical to how I remembered, only with the addition of increasingly more dust. The door to the cabin was once again unlocked, allowing me to go inside to find the evidence I needed laying in the hearth...”

“Conversation was more difficult than usual, due to the circumstances surrounding my visit. I decided to forgo my usual checkup and simply told the Lich that I was a touch hungry, and asked if I could grab something from the pantry. Thankfully his friendly demeanor towards me remained intact, or else I highly doubt I would have been able to so openly handle his collection of preserves, passing off each broken jar as an accident until I found the correct one...”

**Author's Note:**

> One of the players in the campaign I am running wanted their character to have read a book on liches. I told him that I'd get back to him with notes on that topic, since I didn't really know enough about liches to say anything worthwhile at that moment. This was the result.
> 
> It would be nice to add to the library, so if any more topics come up, I might write more "books".


End file.
